Mr. Libby emphasized: “We support the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. We also support the territorial integrity of Armenia. Supporting territorial integrity has been our main principle from the very beginning.” Leaving aside the curtsies about the “territorial integrity of Armenia”, which is not threatened by anyone, at least in Azerbaijan, yes, the United States has routinely made these kinds of statements. But this did not prevent the leaders of the separatist regime operating in Khankendi from regularly traveling to the United States. And persons like Bako Sahakyan or David Babayan somehow received US visas, while there were and still are strict, and absolutely fair, travel bans against holders of Russian passports from Georgian Sukhumi or Tskhinvali, for example.
Moreover, USAID is already implementing a program to help “those affected by the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh,” and it is not clear what this program involves. Especially against the backdrop of the fact that USAID head Samantha Power received the Aurora Prize in the not so distant past from the hands of scandalous Russian oligarch Ruben Vardanyan, who moved to Khankendi after the 44-day war and tried to give a “second life” to the separatist project, only to end up in a pre-trial detention center in Baku.
Then, there is also the painful issue of visiting the territories of Azerbaijan liberated from Armenian occupation. American diplomats refrained from traveling to Shusha even before Libby’s appointment to Azerbaijan. Even invitations to diplomatic forums were ignored. The new US ambassador to Azerbaijan also made a strange statement in this regard: “I sometimes even hear, why does the US Ambassador not go to these (liberated—Ed.) territories? I don’t know when I will go, but I will go. However, I believe that now is not the right time, I do not want to decide whether to go or not under pressure.”
Where did Mr. Libby see “pressure”? In the questions of the journalists? Is this the first time that the professional diplomat representing the United States in our country has heard of freedom of the press? Or is Mr. Libby being “pressured” from the other, Armenian side, and what does “now is not the right time” mean? We do not even want to ask what time Mr. Libby considers “the right time”, but if the United States really recognizes and supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, it should not distinguish between one part of the territory of our country and another.
And finally, the cherry on top, Mr. Libby said that he does not understand why Azerbaijan pays so much attention to Section 907 when our country can do without American military aid.
Very well, let us refresh his memory on some facts. Section 907 was originally discriminatory against Azerbaijan. Against the background of hostilities, the tragedy in Khojaly, the occupation of the towns of Shusha and Lachin, our country was punished for the “blockade of Armenia”, ignoring the fact that Armenia had established a transportation blockade of Nakhchivan even earlier. Moreover, for several years now the President of the United States has been requesting the Congress to waive Section 907 every year, and after Azerbaijan conducted anti-terrorism raids on its territory, the issue was raised in Washington that this time they will not waive Section 907. Does Mr. Libby really not understand all this? The topic of Section 907 was somewhere on the fringes of public attention before it was “resuscitated” at the Senate hearings with the participation of representatives of the US State Department in 2023. But the US Ambassador to Azerbaijan is not aware of this, is he?
It appears that Mr. Libby did not quite understand something important. He has come to represent the United States in a different Azerbaijan. Yes, our country is open to cooperation with Washington in a variety of areas, from business and energy to security and counter-terrorism. But it should be a cooperation based on mutual respect and observance of fundamental principles of international law. Without interference in internal affairs, circulating fakes (“post-election” statement of the embassy has not been forgotten) and, most importantly, without double-dealing. Azerbaijan honors its commitments, adheres to its own declarations and expects the same from its partners.
And another aspect of the issue. Baku is not going to nurse old grudges and recall at every opportunity that at a time when Azerbaijan was in dire need of US assistance and support, Washington “distanced itself” and adopted Section 907 under pressure from the Armenian lobby. It is just that today nobody sees the US ambassador as an authorized representative of the Washington Central Party Committee. Azerbaijan is a sovereign state, and we do not aspire to be anyone’s satellite or outpost.
Lastly, in recent years, and especially in recent months, against the backdrop of rather ambiguous statements of the US State Department representatives at the notorious congressional hearings, the US has lost much of the support of public opinion in Azerbaijan that it used to have not so long ago.
So Mr. Libby should hardly be surprised at the reaction that his awkward attempts at “diplomatic answers” to unpleasant questions caused in Azerbaijan.
